School safety a big worry for teachers

Safety at schools is one of the key challenges that teachers are faced with.

This emerged at the World Teachers Day celebrations in Durban yesterday.

Teachers from across the country, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor and MECs gathered to celebrate, honour and recognise the contribution of teachers and to speak out about the challenges that they are facing.

Pandor said among the challenges with which teachers are still faced with violence at schools was a big concern.

She said most schools affected by violence were those that were not fenced.

"In this case we have taken the initiative to fence all schools and have CCTV cameras installed at some schools," she said.

KwaZulu-Natal has recorded a number of incidents of violence and killings of both teachers and pupils.

Schools are waiting for the deployment of guards.

The 45 teachers who attended the celebrations were selected from thousands of entries sent by pupils.

Addressing the teachers, Pandor said it was encouraging to see the entries describing teachers who made a difference by helping their pupils understand their subjects.